7mm Welsh Narrow Gauge Quarry Railways in 7mm scale

[Osgood]

That's a shame but understandable with no limitless resources.
I don't know what happens if / when a listed structure becomes dangerous - I guess a committee takes a decision as to its importance and worthiness for expenditure to preserve / conserve and its fate is thus decided.

 

[Paul_H]

They are listed:
Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry, Blondins and Associated Structures, Llandwrog, Gwynedd

But like the Dorothea beam engine, with no provisions for restoration, preservation or public access as far as I'm aware.

Wow, I didn't know they were listed. From that link it sounds like they were listed when there were more still standing.
Presumably someone still owns the land at PYO and ought to be responsible for them, but I doubt they'd take any interest in conservation or restoration of the Blondins. They seem to be left to decay and fall apart. The final one standing will eventually fail unless some expensive action is taken. It's the sort of project that might once have been funded by the EU, but now it seems unlikely that state funds could be found for it.

As I understand it, the beam engine house and engine is currently privately owned which prevents access. The owner either can't or won't engage with the engine's conservation and it has suffered a lot in recent years from that neglect.
I've heard of people taking an active interest in trying to save the beam engine, but the Blondins don't seem to have anyone as their advocate :-(

 

[simond]

A minor bit of legislation required to make the owner responsible for restoration in full (as may be required to correct the Crooked House fiasco) might preserve a bit more of our heritage.

 

[Paul_H]

I think a lot of the necessary legislation is already there. The difficulty is working out who might be responsible for the artefacts listed.

I'm only speculating here, but the example of PYO might be an interesting one; The land may be owned by a large estate that sub-let (maybe a hundred years ago or more) to a company (and/or successive companies) that bought a lease to exploit the mineral rights. If the company that had the last working liability for the site has gone bust/disappeared and has no assets, who do you pursue to maintain the artefacts it should have had liability for ?
Then there's whole issue of how you should conserve/preserve/restore these particular assets. Dealing with the buildings and their contents ought to be straight forward, but the existent standing Blondin is quite a complex issue, not to say potentially extremely expensive.

It's worth reading 'Welsh Highland Railway Renaissance' by Gordon Ruston about the complications of dealing with old industrial assets and how difficult it is to deal with collapsed companies and their liabilities.

 

[PhilH]

At the country end of your 'Moving coal' layout, add a narrow gauge line to carry coal to an off-layout industrial premises. I realize it drives a coach & horses through the imaginary 'Somewhere around Wigan' aura, but.......

Hat, coat & door.....

No, absolutely definitely not !

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But, hang on a minute what the heck is that doing up there ?

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Oh, that's OK, its just passing, maybe the Scammell driver is taking a break

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[PhilH]

3 British Film Institute films should be of interest to fans of the Welsh narrow gauge:

Watch Slate Quarrying - BFI Player
Taken at Penrhyn Quarry in 1946, shows a Blondin ropeway in use, also the Hunslets GERTRUDE and LILLA, an ex car conversion petrol loco and briefly the Kerr Stuart SGT.MURPHY.

Watch The Roof over Your Head online - BFI Player
Mainly taken at Blaenau Ffestiniog Quarries

Watch Their Purpose Served online - BFI Player
Includes Penrhyn Railway; Padarn Railway and Dinorwic Quarry; early preservation at the Talyllyn and Festiniog; pre preservation Welshpool & Llanfair and Vale of Rheidol, taken about 1955.

 

[Osgood]

See here for a couple of videos of the Gravity train - quite amazing:

Elmham Market in EM

After several false starts and a few rethinks I have fashioned a new boiler front and smokebox door out of plasticard and a bit of wire. I think it is better than the casting in the kit (the smokebox door was definitely too small when compared to the drawing and was also too ‘flat’). I’m...

www.westernthunder.co.uk

Have you taken a ride Phil?